Process Improvements with Great Clips Check-In Availability App
My experiences with many service industries is that they don’t understand or utilize lean manufacturing techniques. Great Clips is an example of a company that is. You might be familiar with their new mobile app that allows you to check-in for a haircut from a computer or mobile device. This is a perfect example of how to promote your business, expand your customer base, provide better customer service and increase your company’s efficiencies. How many times have you gone to get a haircut and do to the long wait you leave and seek out another store? I know I have done it more times than I can count. 
Now how much of that business loss could have be avoided?
As a customer you are running errands or thinking about getting a haircut. Now, you can pull out your phone, check-in, and know when they can expect you. On the flip side, the store efficiency increases. Instead of every customer just showing up unexpected, customers can check-in the system and the stylist can prepare for their arrival. This saves time from the hair stylist having to get your information and doesn’t take time away from thier current customer. Additionally, walk-ins should not be impacted greatly as they can still see the queue and determine if they want to wait or come back.
A simple tool in the hands of the customer provides the opportunity for the business to be more profitable and better able to assess their customer’s needs.
Listening to the VoB … is there anybody out there? Holler if you hear me!
We get used to answering the typical business question of “so what do you do?” by spewing out in a professional manner our cut line … “ActNow GO Services assists manufacturing and service organizations realize the benefits of continuous product and 
process improvement“. Wow! Fantastic! Before you know it, you grow your business around what you tell others you do. Sure, you have to start somewhere and need to be able to explain simply and concisely what your organization does, but what if the market isn’t accepting your business offer? You know you have a viable product or service, but you are not getting traction … or … not growing as quickly as you’d like. Have your listened to the Voice of the Business (VoB) and used that to shape your products or services? The point is that organizations should be spending more time listening to what the VoB is and use that to formulate improved products, services, and brand campaigns to meet the business needs then simply explaining what they do from the bully pulpit.
“Don’t tell me what you do, explain how you can help me”? This assumes that you have listened already to what they do.
In recent discourses, how to realize the benefits of the Deming Chain Reaction and you got to want to ActNow to get at CP2 Improvements, we broadly presented the concepts getting at productivity and aligning with others that “Get It” when sharing the organization’s vision. Given this it becomes important to understand how the VoB can assist in molding productivity. Listening to the VoB and all its internal and external partners sharing information openly from clients, users, employees, stakeholders, vendors, and partners creates an environment that makes getting at process improvements and low hanging fruit much easier. The input you receive may be tough to swallow, but accept it as a extremely valuable gift! A pearl of information! Yes it “feels better” to get “ada-boys”, but learn to cherish those that share where you are going wrong or making it harder to do business with them. You may not be able to include all of this input into process improvements, but you will at least know what the VoB is.
Digging deeper and understanding the answers to questions like; what do you seek to do? whom does your organization benefit? who wins and who loses? shape the VoB giving it life and meaning. Continuously listening, evaluating, improving, and producing new ideas for products and services will quickly align your organization in a manner making it more capable of delivering your products and services.
You got to want to “Act Now” to get at CP2 Improvements
Want to get at productivity? Then ActNow and GO do it! The biggest step is complete if you want to change. Now how do you bring the rest of the organization along with 
you? As with your desire to change up things and go after productivity gains, it started organically. In other words, it became “inborn” or “inherent” in your behavior. Be respectful of others and their contributions already to the organization by not doing the following:
- DON’T sell everyone on it! It isn’t about you and what you want to do. It is more about a vision and what the organization can align to do.
- DON’T assign it into existence! When you assign someone else to do it, you aren’t making them a partner or part of the process. It is just a job so that is how they will approach it. If they don’t get it going they can just say … “well so-in-so wouldn’t cooperate.” Don’t bring the blame-game into the fold. Soliciting others ideas and help goes a lot farther.
- DON’T order it to happen! The ole “my way or the highway” tactic is just fear mongering. Fear is not the emotion you want to introduce into a new venture. I hope we don’t have to explain why on this one
Regardless of where you sit in the food chain hierarchy, share the vision with others all around you, above, laterally, and below. Share the vision and how it aligns the organization’s aims, values, and purpose. Look for others that are like minded. Listen to this brief video from +Michael C Wagner of the White Rabbit Group on Do Your Managers & Employees “Get It”? The vision becomes shared in the organization when others “Get It”. That simple!
There is so much more that can be shared and will be shared on the value of ActNow. At least you can begin to share the vision and encourage creativity and teamwork in getting at CP2 Improvements within your organization.
Realizing the Benefits from The Deming Chain Reaction!
So what reactions occur when you exploit the power in the Deming Chain? Do you want to be in business to stay in business? Static processes and consistency of product are helpful to survive, but do you just want to survive as an organization? What about the competition that wants to make sure they survive at your organization’s expense? Continuous product and process improvement (CP2 Improvement) needs to happen and nothing better than moving with the power of a chain reaction.
So you ask, “how does the Deming Chain Reaction start?” A: You need a catalyst for change. A mindset of wanting to improve you organization and a willingness to be persistent. Not changing anything and expecting a different outcome is crazy. ”… I heard that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!” (The Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous 1981).
The Deming Chain Reaction begins when an organization takes on the responsibility to improve quality and productivity. With gains in these two inputs the reaction moves to processes where the organization can realize decreases in cost and increased margin. This leads to a decision for the organization. Can we decrease the price and/or increase the value (or both) of our goods and services we offer to the market? From the processes section the reaction impacts the outputs of the system. With the value improvements the organization earns the privilege to stay in business, potentially increase market share, as well as to provide more jobs and opportunities for others.
Through CP2 Improvement, the chain reaction becomes more familiar and practical to use. Your organization will find a new energy source to fend off competitive and market attacks. Be prepared and ActNow.